Weddings and commitment ceremonies

22 August 2004 | Faith & Society

Weddings and commitment ceremonies take place throughout the year. They are not the same as commitment ceremonies, for many reasons. One reason is that commitment ceremonies can be entirely individual and so quite different from each other, not only in symbol but in what is symbolised. I wrote this prayer for the commitment ceremony of my sister and her partner on 22 August 2002. It is reproduced here with their permission.

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Almighty God

In the desert’s silence, you are there.

In an orchid’s whisper, you are there.

In the thunder of a volcano, you are there.

And when we dare face our dreams and fears, you are there, for you made us in your own image.

You made us, and make us, through the tensions, the possibilities and the limitations of relationships. We bring before you all those here, elsewhere and departed, who are part of us or have shaped us. We acknowledge the bruises and the hugs; the acceptance and the rejection; what was and what never had the chance to be.

Sorrowfully we think of the frustration of your creativity expressed in human life caused by fear and prejudice of all kinds. We celebrate and thank you for all those who have challenged those evils and so made different possibilities real.

And now we pray that you make real from today a different possibility of life together for Catherine and Jo. May they never lose sight of their own, and each other’s, potential for growth – for you are a relentless, creative God. And in a thousand ways, but not least through each other and through us, may they know even more surely your unconditional presence and love.

In the desert’s silence, you are there.

In an orchid’s whisper, you are there.

In the thunder of a volcano, you are there.

And now as Jo and Catherine choose to face their dreams and fears together, you are here, for you make us in your own image. 

 

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